What do all these random images have in common? They all, in one way or another, kinda sorta look like spiders, don't they? According to one research group, looking at pictures like these may be an effective cure for getting over your fear of arachnids.
As reported by io9, the finds of the group were recently published in a paper, which confirms their beliefs that you can overcome your fear of spiders, without actually even making any sort of contact with the eight-legged freaks.
Instead of showing arachnophobics spiders, the team exposed them to images like the ones above, which convey the general body shape of a spider. Once they found a group of images that each person was comfortable with looking at, they were burned onto a DVD and taken home, which the spider-haters were asked to watch twice a day. The idea was to make them comfortable with looking at spiders, by making them comfortable with looking at things that look like spiders.
Six months into the treatment, 90% of the test group saw a dramatic improvement in their level of spider-related fear, and three of them even felt comfortable enough to pet a tarantula that was hanging out in the lab.
Facing your fears without facing your fears - gotta love it!
Head into FEARNET's spider archives, for more creepy-crawly fun.